Automatic safety adjustable coupling



r. M- RUTTEN ,ANDAJ-R- HILSABECK. AUTOMATIC SAFETY ADJUSTABLE COUPLING.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.

Patented Nov. 2L 11922 7 2 SHEET8$HEET I.

nuIlm F. M. RU'TTEN AND A. P. HILSABECK.

AUTOMATIC APPLICATION FILED JAN. l9. I92Z.

SAFETY ADJUSTABLE COUPLING. 4

; Famed Nov. 211, 11922 2 snmsqum 2.

Patented Nov. 21, lQZZ. ll

l tlll idlila PATEN FRANK IVE. BUTTEN AND ALBERT R. HILSABEGK, OF GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA; SAID RU'ITEN ASSIGNOB TO SAID HILSABECK.

AUTOMATIC SAFETY ADJUSTABLE COUPLING.

Application filed January 19, 1922. Serial No. 530,252.

To all whom-z't mag concern: Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the Be it known that we, FRANK M. RUTTEN coupling as seen in Fig. 1; and ALBERT R. HILSABECK, citizens of the Fig. 3 is a vertical section taken on the 55 United States, residing at Grand Forks, line 3-3 of Fig. 2, as indicated by the ar- 5 in the county of Grand Forks and State rows; and

of North Dakota, have invented cer- Fig. 4 is a plan view of the coupling tain new and useful Improvements in Autoshowing the same in open position. matic Safety Adjustable Couplings; and we Referring to the drawings. the device 60 do hereby declare the following to be a full, comprises a bifurcated or U-shaped frame clear, and' exact description of the invenmember having the fiat base portion 1 and tion, such as will enable others skilled in the the flat parallel plates or arms 2. The latart to which it appertains to make and use ter are formed with spaced bosses at their the same. front ends between which are pivoted jaw 65 This invention relates to a coupling for members 3 and 4. The jaw members are a tractor, and particularly to such a couformed with oppositely beveled faces at pling which is adapted to be released upon their front ends and are also formed with the application of excessive stress. curved recesses inwardly of their contact- It is an object of this invention to proing front portions, which, when the jaws are 70 vide such a coupling comprising pivoted closed, form 'a closed space 5 in which the jaws constructed to form a recess for holdclevis, or other member 6 to be drawn will ing the member to be drawn, which jaws be disposed. This member will, of course, have portions projecting to the rear of their be connected to the plow, vehicle, or other pivots which are held apart by a member means to which the coupling will be hitched. 75 swinging therebetween. The jaws are pivoted on pins 7 passing It is a further object of the invention to through hubs formed thereon and through providethe coupling with adjustable trip bosses on the arms 2, these pins being held means for releasing the same upon the appliin place by any suitable means illustrated as cation of suiiicient stress thereto. split keys passing through the pins of the 80 It is still another object to form a 0011- top and bottom thereof. The jaws 8 and 4t pling of two movable parts which are held have members projecting rearwardly of together by spring-pressed bolts, the springs their pivots and a swinging member or bar of which can be adjusted for various ten- 8 is pivoted between the arms 2 substansions, which springs are compressed to pertially at the transverse center thereof and mit movement of the parts of the coupling between the rear ends of said rear portions 5 to actuate the trip means for releasing the of the jaws. The member 8 has a shoulcoupling when excessive stress is applied dered portion extending through and fitting thereto. p an aperture in the lower arm 2, the end of It.is still another object of the invention which portion is threaded and adapted to to provide the eouplingwith means whereby receive a holding nut. Said member also 40 the same may be automatically actuated to has a pivot passing through the upper arm close the jaws andconnect the coupling to 2 which extends a short distance therethe member to be drawn when the latter above and is provided with a straight sided member is entered therein. portion 8 of short height, said portion be- These and other objects and advantages ing of just sufficient width to fit the elon- 5 of the invention will be fully set forth in gated slot 10 formed in a flat cam member 9 the following description made in connecwhich is thus seated on the top of the said tion with the accompanying drawings in pivot member and is held thereon in various which like reference characters refer to the adjusted positions by a washer and nut same parts throughout the different views, threaded onto the shouldered end thereof. 5 and in which, The member 9 is, as clearly shown in Figs. Fig. 1 is a plan view of the coupling show- 1 and 4, provided with an inclined cam face ing thesame in closed position; i on its front edge, The body portion of the member 8 disposed between the arms 2 is formed with apertured lugs or ears at one end thereof and a bar 11 is pivoted at its inner end between said lugs by asuitable pivot pin and projects forwardly between the members 2 and between the hubs of the jaws 3 and a, said member being formed at its front end with an enlarged head, the front surface of which extends substantially across the space 5. The lower pivot of member 8 is encircled by a coiled tension spring, one end of which is secured in the lower arm 1 and the other end of which bears against the member '8 and tends to swing the same in a clockwise direction about its pivot or in a direction to move bar 11 toward the front end of the aws.

The coupling also comprises a second or movable frame member 12 provided with a flat base member of the same shape as the base member 1. These base members are provided with alined apertures adjacent the outer edges through which pass the headed bolts 18, which bolts are surrounded by heavy coiled springs 14 and washers 15 are disposed against the outer ends of these springs and pressed against the same by nuts threaded onto the end of said bolts. The member 12 has bolted to its top portion an arm 16 adapted to extend forwardly in an inclined direction under .the trip cam member 9 and which has an upstanding pin 17 located on the forward side of said cam adjacent the inclined edge thereof. The member 12 has spaced rearwardly projecting arms 18 formed with alined apertured hubs adapted to receive a member 19 which connects the same to the tractor.

The operation of the coupling is as follows:

The springs 1 1 will be adjusted to the proper tension by turning of the nuts on the bolts 13 and the frame members 1 and 12 will thus be firmly held together. The cam member 9 will be adjusted transversely of the upper arm 2 to bring the inclined cam edge thereof to the desired distance from the upstanding pin 17. Assuming that the coupling has been connected. as illustrated in Fi l the member 8 will be in the position shown with the central longitudinal plane thereof extending approximately normal to the face of the rear portions of the jaws 3 and 4:. As the member 6 is pulled upon, the same will pull against the front portion of the jaws and owing to the curved or inclinedshape of these jaws at the front portion of the opening 5, will have a tendency to separate the same. The jaws, however, cannot open as the rear portions press against the member 8. There is no tendency for the member 8 to turn and the same is held in the position shown. When suflicient stress is exerted between the member 19 and the member 6, 01' thus between the movable frame 12 and the frame 1, the springs 1% will be compressed and frame 12 will move away-from the frame 1. The bar 16 which constitutes a trip dog, will be moved against the inclined face of cam member 10 and will swing the same about the pivot of member 8, thecam member being rigidly secured to the pivot by the narrow straight sided portion described. The member 8 will be swung alOOut its pivot and the rear portion of the jaws will thus be allowed to approach each'other. The member 6 will immediately cam open the front portion of the jaws 3 and 4 and will pass therebetween. The position of the device as the member 6 passes through the contacting portion of the jaws is substantially shown in Fig. 41. As the front portion of the jaws are swung open by the member 6, the pivoted end of member 8 and the inner end of bar 11 will be moved or cann'ned forwardly by the inner side of jaw 3 and the cam member 9 will thus be turned further rearwardly, as illustrated in Fig. 4. Of course, as soon as the member 8 is turned to release the jaws and the member 6 passes therebetween, the springs 1 1 will immediately expand and again move the members 1 and 12 tightly together.

From the description it is seen that thecoupling automatically releases when sutli cient stress is placed thereon. The desired compression of springs 14: before release will be determined by the setting of cam 9. As soon as the member 8 is turned from its jawholding position shown in Fig. 1, the spring 20 will turn the same and move the'bar 11 forwardly.

hen it is desired to connect the tractor or coupling to the member 6, the tractor can merely be hacked and the member 6 entered between the jaws 3 and l. Thesame will then push on the head of member 11 and this member will be moved rearwardly and turn the member 8 in a counter-clockwise direction, thus separating the rear portions of the jaws 3 and l and closing the front portions about the member 6. It will be noted that the counter-clockwise movement of member 8 is limited by the engagement of the end of said member with the jaws. The member has a tendency to snap into this position and when once in engagement with the jaws has no tendency to move out of such engagement. The jaws will thus be held closed until the member 3 is again positively moved by movement of cam 9. i

From the above description it seen that applicant has provided a simple and 'etli cient form of tractor coupling. The device can be coupled automatically and will be automatically released when a predetermined stress is placed thereon. All of the parts are simple, the same are few in number and can be made of very rugged construction to withstand heavy service. lVhen once assembled, the parts have no tendency to become disarranged or to get out of order.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made in the form, details andarrangement of the parts without departing from the scope of applicants invention, which, generally stated, consists in the matter shown and described and set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A tractor hitch having in combination, opposing pivoted jaws shaped to form a closed space therebetween at their front ends, and each having portions extending to the rear of its pivot and a swinging member adapted to move to a position between said rear portions extending in a plane approximately at right angles to the surfaces thereof whereby the rear portions will be held apart and the front portions of the jaws prevented from opening.

2. A tractor hitch having in combination, a frame, jaws pivoted thereto and adapted to form a closed recess at their front ends, each jaw having a portion extending to the rear of its pivot having a substantially vertical surface, a member pivoted to said frame between the rear portions of said jaws and adapted to swing to a position in a plane substantially at right angles to a line extending longitudinally centrally between said jaws, said member contacting the rear portions of said jaws to hold the front portions thereof in closed position.

3. The structure set forth in claim 2, and a bar member secured to said pivoted member and extending forwardly between said jaws whereby when said bar member is pushed rearwardly, the said pivot member will be swung into position to close said jaws and hold the same closed.

4. The structure set forth in claim 3, and spring means tending to swing said pivoted member about its pivot and move said bar member toward the front of said jaws.

5. A tractor coupling having in combination a frame, a pair of jaws pivoted to said frame on spaced pivots at the front portion thereof, said jaws having contacting portions and being formed with oppositely inclined surfaces forward of said portions and shaped to form a closed space rearwardly of the said portions, said jaws also having rear portions extending to the rear of their pivots, a locking member pivoted in said frame between the rear portions of said aws and adapted to swing crosswise between the rear portions thereof to close the jaws and hold the same in closed position, a movable frame member, spring-pressed bolts holding said movable frame tightly to said frame, a trip cam secured to said locking member, a trip dog secured to said movable frame adapged to contact with and swing said trip cam member whereby when stress is applied between the frame and movable frame the latter will be moved and the locking member swung to permit said jaws to open.

6. A tractor coupling comprising a frame, jaws pivoted thereto and formed at their front ends to provide a closed space therebetween, said jaws having rear portions ex tending rearwardly of their pivots, a locking member pivoted to said frame and adapted to extend crosswise between said rear portions of the jaws to hold the front portions thereof in closed position, an adjustable cam member secured to said locking member and a trip dog adapted to contact with said cam member and swing the look ing member out of contact with the rear portions of the jaws to permit the front portions thereof to open.

7. A tractor coupling comprising a U- shaped frame having a flat base and flat arms, jaws pivoted between the front portions of said arms contacting at the front ends to form a closed recess, said jaws having port-ions extending rearwardly of their pivots between said arms, a swinging locking member disposed between said arms and pivoted thereto adapted to swing crosswise between said rear portions and hold the jaws in closed position, said locking member having a pivot extending above one of said arms, a cam member secured to the said pivot above one of said arms, a bar pivotedto one end of said locking member between the arms and projecting forwardly between said jaws, and a spring disposed about the pivot of said locking member and tending to swing the same to move said bar forwardly.

8. A coupling comprising a U-shaped frame having a flat base and flat arms, jaws intermediately pivoted between the front portions of said arms, a swinging locking member pivoted between said arms between the rear portions of said jaws, a trip cam member secured to said locking member and disposed on top of one. of said arms, a movable frame having a flat base contacting said base of the frame, said bases having alined apertures at each side thereof, headed bolts passing through said apertures, coiled springs disposed on said bolts and nut pressed washers disposed on the ends of said bolts in contact with said springs, said springs contacting at their other ends with the base of said U-shaped frame whereby said frames are held tightly closed posi tion, and a dog member carried by said movable frame adapted to contact and swing said trip cam member whereby, when sufficient stress is exerted between said frames, the jaws will be opened.

9. A tractor hitch having in combina tion, a pair of members separable against spring pressure, opposing pivoted jaws shaped to form a closed space therebetween at their front ends and each having portions relative movement between said first menextending to the rear of its pivot, a swingitioned members to move said swlnging meming member adapted to move to a position her to permit opening said jaws. 1O

In testimony whereof We afiix our signabetween said rear portions extending in a plane approximately at right angles to the tures. adjacent surfaces thereof to hold said jaws in closed position, and means operated by FRANK lVL RUTTEN.

ALBERT R. HI-LSABEOK. 

